Desktop Software

Rather new on the scene, Pressmatic has stolen my heart. It quickly took the place of Vagrant mainly due to it’s simplicity coupled with extensibility. It rocks my world. If you use a local development tool (you should), Pressmatic is the way to go.

Most people reading this probably already use it, but it’s always worth a mention. I’m on so many teams it’s ridiculous and the single app helps me to keep track of things. Integrations with things such as GitHub allow me to track commits perfectly.

Your eyes will thank you. Flux is why my monitor looks orange to most people. It’s main purpose is to adjust your screen to remove a lot of the blue light, and does so throughout the day. As it gets later, Flux will remove more and more blue from the spectrum, making things almost orange. It takes some getting used to, but after a few hours, it becomes normal. In fact, if I disable it, my eyes start burning.

It’s cheap (or free if you don’t need the premium features) and you shouldn’t have a single reason not to use a password keychain. Use it, automatically generate your passwords, and don’t worry about losing your passwords anymore. With tools like LastPass (or 1Password), you have zero reasons for using the same password multiple places.

PHPStorm is a PHP IDE with a ridiculous amount of power. Every bit of code I write is done with PHPStorm. Autocompletion, WordPress support, and countless other tools such as automated version control and deployment are insanely helpful.

On a Mac, my resolution options are somewhat limited without it. MacOS does a great job scaling, but often times 4k makes elements too small, and 1080p is way too big. I’m a big fan of screen real estate and try to maximize it the best I can. Display Menu allows me to change resolutions on the fly; even those not selectable within the display settings.

I travel quite often and nothing scares me more than public wifi. It’s absolutely terrifying. Would anyone target me? Probably not. Could I get caught in a broad man-in-the-middle attack? Certainly. Cloak puts me at ease and because I don’t need it at home or in the office, it allows me to buy day/week/month passes so that I’m not on something recurring.

I copy and paste a lot. Sometimes, I copy something, and miss the “V” key, causing me to copy something else. Paste allows me to easily store my clipboard into history so that I can just grab the thing I copied earlier.

Backblaze is a backup solution that keeps a changelog and allows for easily reverting my changes. One click restores a file that I accidentally overwrote. Think of it as version control for cloud backups.

My memory sucks and I like lists. Everything from cleaning my desk to things I need to document in Gravity Forms gets noted in Todoist. Using the desktop app allows me to hotkey it and access it within seconds.

When I was planning this tattoo, people asked why I would get a logo permanently tattooed on me. Mainly because WordPress likely won’t exist, or I may not be into it forever. I realize that, and that’s okay. My response is simple:

Simply put, WordPress (and the community surrounding it) changed my life. It taught me that I can do anything. I can create anything. I can be anything. The connections I have made within the WordPress community far surpass most others in my life; both on a professional and personal level. I have met some of my best friends through WordPress.

WordPress won’t last forever, and I’m okay with that

To think that WordPress will always be the dominant platform, or even last forever is just silly. The times will change, people will move on. But in the end, WordPress will still be a part of us. When we’re old and all information is just beamed into our brains, we’ll still remember how WordPress shaped our lives.

WordPress is more than a platform

WordPress is a way of life. We live it, we breathe it. It will always be a part of us.

The WordPress community is something that varies from most other communities in that it is accepting of anyone; regardless of their skill level, monetary status, race, gender, sexual orientation, or preferred brand of pizza. Time after time I’ve seen someone cared for by another as if they had grown up together. WordPress is the family and friends that I didn’t have growing up.

What WordPress means to me

The WordPress community helped me believe in myself. It showed me that I can do anything, and to never be ashamed that I know less than someone else on a particular topic.

Lifelong friendships have been forged with people hundreds of miles away. It has shown me that nothing but the strength of your character really matters in the end. I feel more accepted within the WordPress community than I ever have, and that’s something that can never be taken from me.